Thursday , March 28 2024
Forgive me if I am making Djokovic out as the second coming of Crocodile Dundee.

Novak Djokovic – The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Novak Djokovic really likes Australia, and more specifically he loves Melbourne Park, where he just concluded his match against Andy Murray of Great Britain 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-2 to win his third consecutive Australian Open, but no one is ready to rename Rod Laver Arena just yet. Still, Djokovic’s dominance here in Australia is the stuff from which legends are made, and the 25-year-old Serbian is definitely making a case for himself.

As for Murray, he had defeated his long-time friend in five sets at the U.S. Open last year, so the set-up for this match was a classic from the start. We had Djokovic with his history of success in Oz, and Murray who proved he could beat the Serb. Add the fact that they both know and understand each other’s game so well, and you knew it would be an exciting afternoon.

Djokovic becomes only the third man in history to win three consecutive titles at the Australian Open (the others being American Jack Crawford and Australian Roy Emerson). So forgive me if I am making Djokovic out as the second coming of Crocodile Dundee, but he obviously is the master of this court at this point.

Murray, coming off a long five-set win against Roger Federer on Friday night, was a little bit off his game and seemed to be hurting (his trainer had to tape his foot after the second set because of blisters). Whether or not you want to use that as an excuse or not, one has to give Murray credit for he keeps getting close in Grand Slams and became the first British male player in 76 years to win one of the majors with the U.S. Open win in 2012.

For now the year has started off quite well for Djokovic, but don’t expect the 25-year-old Murray to be going away anytime soon. It won’t be surprising if these two come together again in a final at least in one of the other Grand Slams this year. For now the top seed Djokovic (Murray is third seed) is sitting on top of the world and is unquestionably the Wizard of Oz.

Photo Credit: AP

About Victor Lana

Victor Lana's stories, articles, and poems have been published in literary magazines and online. His new novel, 'Unicorn: A Love Story,' is available as an e-book and in print.

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